Purdue women at Indiana: Starting 5

Five items of interest about tonight’s matchup at Assembly Hall in Bloomington:

SWAGGER

One element you always counted on during coach Sharon Versyp’s tenure is her teams played defense, especially during the Big Ten season. That was the biggest takeaway from Sunday’s 20-point loss to Iowa. Indiana doesn’t have the personnel to do what the Hawkeyes did, but coach Curt Miller will test the defense. If the Boilermakers are going to make something of this season – win the conference tournament or advance to the Sweet 16 – it starts on the defensive end. If this team doesn’t find its swagger on defense, this won’t be a pretty finish to the season.

HELPING MOSES

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – the Boilermakers need Courtney Moses to find her shooting touch. Now, Moses isn’t the savior to a struggling offense but an important piece. If Moses gets going, others should fall in line. Opposing teams will continue to focus attention on Moses, but her teammates have to help by setting better screens. Curious if Versyp tries to get Moses involved early against the Hoosiers. It seemed to work earlier in the season.

DOWN LOW

Moses and Drey Mingo shot a combined 1 of 18 in the first meeting, but Purdue won by 17. Can the same thing happen again? Probably not. Mingo, Sam Ostrarello and freshman Taylor Manuel have to start finishing shots down low on a consistent basis. Too many missed easy shots puts more pressure on the defense.

INDIANA’S WOES

The Hoosiers have established themselves as the league’s worst team, especially on offense. They’ve scored 60 points once in Big Ten play and don’t have enough scorers on the team to put together long runs. That’s why Purdue’s defense has to take Indiana’s offense out of the game early. In the first meeting, the Boilermakers led 12-2 but the Hoosiers climbed back into the game. An early knockout punch is needed.

TAKING CARE

Lost in the lack of scoring and the poor defensive performance is the turnovers the last three games. Only 15 in the loss to Iowa, and a combined 22 against Wisconsin and Michigan. However, the shooting percentage isn’t going up. Getting a handle on the turnover problems was supposed to increase the production.